- November 17th, 1939, when Nazis closed the Czech universities inward answer to the anti-Nazi activities past times the students, particularly during the funeral of Mr January Opletal who was fatally injured during the previous Oct 28th (1918 anniversary) rally. For this reason, this twenty-four hours became the International Student Day, the alone widely celebrated international vacation fully inspired past times the modern Czech history. Communists celebrated that twenty-four hours as good – which is why it became softly but perchance unfairly connected amongst their regime.
- November 17th, 1989, when students of the Charles University inward Prague (my Alma Mater) reminded themselves of the 50th anniversary of the trial above. They were also dissatisfied amongst many things almost the totalitarian regime, they were beaten past times the police, together with the protests against the law activeness kickstarted the Velvet Revolution i.e. the autumn of communism inward Czechoslovakia.
Some actually adept 2017 fourth dimension lapse video of Prague, past times a Russian.
In the Parliament that arose from the most recent elections, almost 1/2 of the lawmakers stand upward for parties that openly prefer the communist regime over the post-1989 capitalism. As of late as ane yr ago, I was torturing myself amongst the nightmare of a coming regime of the communist political party (which hasn't participated inward whatever regime since the June 1990 elections, non fifty-fifty indirectly) together with ANO, an anti-capitalist political party led past times a communist apparatchik together with a communist hole-and-corner agent who also became a billionaire because of his communist-era contacts, special knowledge, together with his predator condition based on the absolute absence of whatever morality (and because he escaped Slovakia earlier they would set him to jail for a long time).
Well, it's Nov 17th, 2017, together with the nightmare has basically acquire the novel reality. The changes expression fast together with hitting – perchance fast plenty then that nosotros could telephone telephone the recent transformation a counter-revolution. Babiš is edifice a minority regime that volition go supported past times the communists because he promised to "tax the assets that the churches got dorsum as a restitution" (this is a pop need amid the fanatically anti-religious onetime voters of the communist political party – most of them basically handgrip amongst the policy of sending the priests to uranium mines simply about 1950, they're truthful scum) together with past times nationalist Okamura who volition acquire some promises together with chore inward the Parliament or elsewhere. The Pirates already sadly human activeness as Babiš's youth organization, also (I jurist that Babiš could remove keep easily bought this whole as P.R.-based political party for a pound of marijuana) but they volition in all likelihood go less straight connected amongst the regime than the communists together with the far right. So nosotros are going to go governed past times a coalition of the non-democratic or the to the lowest degree democratic parties inward the Parliament.
Also, when you lot hear to official events, at that spot is a lot of speak that nosotros should go "brave together with celebrate the 1939 trial only" again. Clearly, lots of people who became rattling powerful inward recent months or years remove keep a serious occupation amongst the Velvet Revolution again.
The commercial sector together with some of the media celebrate the anniversary appropriately, decently, together with sometimes wittily. For example, as a youngster shareholder of O2, the strongest Internet provider, I applaud to their Czech version of the Great Firewall of China. If your Internet comes from O2 together with you lot opened upward a unusual website today, what you lot acquire is the next moving painting instead:
It says "Beware: the province border. Don't enter!" At the end, it does give away that liberty isn't for costless together with you lot may click the bluish push maxim that "I desire to freely continue". So the firewall doesn't quite work. ;-) But it could. O2 has sent some text messages, too. But the official events organized past times politicians remove keep been tainted.
Andrej Babiš's presence at the Velvet Revolution events is simply shocking because this guy represents more or less everything that the Velvet Revolution fought against. Some Western leftists don't similar Kaczynski or Orbán together with these men are called authoritarians etc. But there's null incorrect almost their presence on events commemorating the autumn of communism. They were patently parts of it. They stand upward for the new, non-communist regime. They're unquestionably of import parts of the Parliamentarian, pro-democratic, together with costless landscape.
What almost Andrej Babiš? Where was he on Nov 17th, 1989? He was a manager of Petrimex, or a branch of it, together with traded amongst Arabs. He was comfortably living inward Kingdom of Morocco and, as he literally brags, he didn't fifty-fifty know that something similar the Velvet Revolution started inward the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Holy cow. And he was reporting people who were considered unwelcome to the regime. As the agent of StB, he could remove keep focused on the "economic criminal offense against the socialist state" but I don't personally think that it makes his demeanour much to a greater extent than justified. (We simply learned almost an amusing written report past times Babiš – he in ane trial reported Austrians who were importing videorecorders to Czechoslovakia. It's funny but it harmed us, too. We wanted to remove keep videos together with go exposed to the Blue Planet civilization etc. etc. So he was pain both Austrians together with Czechoslovaks past times those activities.)
What did he say during the events today?
People expected liberty – liberty to move together with practise business, together with nosotros basically got that. But the monastic say is divided, to a greater extent than divided than nosotros expected, together with total of hatred. It's divided to fans together with foes of President Zeman, fans of his movement, together with the so-called democratic parties that allowed everything inward our province to go robbed together with tunneled out.I almost vomited when I completed listening to this monologue.
First, yes, nosotros expected freedom, nosotros got it. The gross domestic product together with its increase are comparable to what I expected. In 1989, I was sure nosotros would acquire comparable to the West simply about 2017 together with I also expected that at that spot would soundless go a visible remainder gap betwixt us together with the West. And I handgrip that the monastic say is divided.
But aren't the reasons for the divisions variety of obvious? Note a bizarre particular inward his description of the "groups" within our polarized society. He mentions fans together with foes of Zeman but alone fans of his movement. Wow. What almost foes of himself? Have they been censored or eradicated? Like some millions of Czechs, I am an enemy of his motion together with of himself personally. I volition (hopefully) celebrate wildly if together with when someone shoots him dead. Why weren't people similar me mentioned at all? As the prime number government minister designate, does he desire to institutionally enshroud that millions of Czechs viscerally loathe him?
And why practise nosotros loathe him? Just expression inward the next sentence. The vacation today is mainly a celebration of Nov 17th, 1989, almost certainly the twenty-four hours that kickstarted the most positive changes inward our province at to the lowest degree inward the recent seventy years. We restored democracy, democratic parties together with their competition. It's spectacularly obvious that these 28 years were a success together with correct now, Czechs are improve off than they remove keep always been inward the Czech history. This guy describes the democratic parties as "the so-called democratic parties" together with the whole democratic era then far as an era of robbery. What the hell?
Democratic parties are "so called" because they're democratic, indeed. Each of us likes some of them together with dislikes others – but they're for certain keen simply because they're democratic. Who defines the bad parties as the democratic ones is an anti-democratic šithead. Where does he honour then much arrogance to sling mud at all democratic parties past times adding insulting words such as "so-called"? Clearly, republic itself is a huge occupation for this communist jerk. And what almost the robbery? Some people remove keep hijacked lots of assets – he's for certain amid the transcend five people inward the illegitimately acquired assets then he should exploit his chance to unopen upward – but this concentration of the working capital missive of the alphabet is unquestionably a role of the success, a major constituent of the path towards a wealthier together with to a greater extent than effective society.
A stunning older timelapse video amongst some Czech landscapes.
All the propaganda demonizing occupation organisation people together with economically successful people (Babiš himself gets an exemption from himself together with his brain-dead fans) is null else than the rattling same anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist propaganda nosotros were forced to hear upward to 1989. All the capitalists are evil together with they exploit the working class. Give me a suspension amongst this garbage. People who repeat garbage similar that should remove keep gone extinct sometime inward 1953 along amongst Stalin together with Gottwald. Why are these Bolshevik scumbags soundless oxidizing inward our world? You don't belong to the 21st century, jealous commie rabble! Go away.
The strength of Babiš's pro-communist beliefs must go incredible given his hatred towards the recent 28 years. His cyberspace worth got from null to $4 billion. How many TRF readers would loathe 28 years inward which this increase became possible for you? But Babiš hates those 28 years, anyway, because inward those years, communist cadres from the Proletariat together with attached to the communist party's inwardness past times mucilage weren't celebrated as the leading grouping of the best people – instead, diverse people from the civilization etc. became to a greater extent than hip. Those billions of dollars couldn't remove keep compensated that loss for this hardcore Bolshevik.
We wanted to acquire rid of the province that owned together with controlled everything together with that constantly intimidated the people who had a occupation amongst the collectivized scheme together with who felt constrained or harmed past times it. This guy, supported past times 1.5 1000000 of the jealous together with parasitic bottom of the Czech monastic say together with indirectly past times some other 1000000 that voted the communists together with partly Okamura's nationalists, openly wants to demonize together with contrary all the principal achievements of the Velvet Revolution. And he has the chutzpah to seem on such an trial that should usually celebrate the trial that led to these glorious recent 28 years?
It's disgusting together with it's scary. I hope that the Pilsner rally this evening volition soundless go alright. By the way, Babiš met some foes on the National Avenue who were yelling at him it was a shame for a communist agent to desecrate the historical place. But it was simply a few dozens of loud critics. Why? Babiš came at that spot at 7:30 am. Obviously, he had to. The flat of anger would go unbearable if he came during the day. He has said several other things that are rather distasteful to say during the "holiday of the struggle for liberty democracy". For example, fifty-fifty today, nosotros heard that "we require to works life the bulk election scheme together with the discussions volition in conclusion stop". What? It's the betoken of republic to remove keep discussions. But explicate such things to a hardcore Bolshevik apparatchik. Impossible.
In 1989, I was a teenage idealist who was proud almost the velvet format of the revolution that was picked. Today, I think it was a mistake. The dirtiest people linked to the totalitarian regime starting from the likes of Babiš upward should remove keep been either executed or jailed for decades or expelled from the country. It was irresponsible to human activeness otherwise together with something we're witnessing in all likelihood had to hap at some moment. With a to a greater extent than principled together with harsher approach, nosotros could remove keep prevented it, however.
We soundless remove keep the liberty together with at to the lowest degree formally democracy. The economic scheme works etc. But the atmosphere inward the monastic say has acquire terrible – together with a sign of negative changes that may come upward soon. Honestly, 28 years ago, I did expression that the bulk of the people inward 2017 would realize that almost all the wealth comes from (and particularly liberty is what should go credited for that) together with the drivers of the Velvet Revolution – together with indeed, I hateful fifty-fifty folks at the lower flat as your humble correspondent – would go to a greater extent than oft than non praised. Instead, nosotros remove keep this apparent cult of personality of a human being who should remove keep been hanged inward 1989 together with who openly spits on all the vital principles that drove us to the streets at the goal of 1989. It's surreal.